Back to this thread, Universal Basic Income had another small, limited but real-world experiment recently completed, with positive results:
Residents of Stockton, Calif., who received $500 a month from a first-of-its-kind guaranteed-income program were more likely to find full-time jobs, be happy and stay healthy, according to a year-long study published Wednesday.
Supporters of universal income programs — which provide regular, unconditional payments from the government to people — say the findings should dispel common criticisms of the idea, such as that money with no strings attached will become a disincentive for people to work or will encourage them to spend it on drugs and alcohol.
Recipients of the monthly payments were twice as likely to gain full-time employment than others, according to data analysis by a pair of independent researchers, Stacia West of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Amy Castro Baker of the University of Pennsylvania. Most of the money distributed was spent on food or other essentials. Tobacco or alcohol made up less than 1 percent of tracked purchases. [WaPo]
Limited, yes – but encouraging, at least for the left. For conservatives, it’s a small, but potentially important, strike against the ideological pillar that people will waste what’s given to them.
